Ledger.



No. 758,976. PATENTED MAY 3, 1904.

JVA. KRAMER.

LEDGERl APPLICATION FILED JUNE 15. 1903.

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UNITED STATES Patented May 3, 1904. L

JUDsoN A. KRAMER, or MARION, IowA.

LEDGER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 758,976, dated May 3, 1904.

Application filed June 15, 1903. Serial No. 161,480. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern: Y

Be it known that I, JUDsoN A. KRAMER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Marion, in the county of Linn and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ledgers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to self-indexing ledgers or other books of like nature; and the object of the invention is to so construct and arrange the ledger and its index as that names in the index may be found in the shortest possible time, and from the name as found the place of the account may be as quickly found.

The nature of the invention will fully aplpear from the description and claim following, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a fragmentary view of a ledger embodying my invention open at the index. Fig. 2 is a similar view of the same open at page 5 of the A group of the ledger.

In the general arrangement of the ledger the main body of the book is divided into groups of leaves, each group being made quickly accessible by asuitable index character.l the letters of the alphabet being usually employed, as shown. These are most conveniently arranged on tabs a, attached to some leaf of the group, preferably an index-leaf. The separate leaves of the groups are arranged for easy reference by stepping at the margin, as indicated, and the steps are marked for such reference by suitable insignia, numerals being preferred. In connection with each group, preferably at the beginning, is an index for the group. This is ruled horizontally for names, which may be in two or more columns on the page, as indicated. In addition to this is a series of vertical rulings dividing a portion of the page atb into narrow columns headed by the letters of the alphabet. These may generally be grouped, two or three letters to a column, as shown. At the right of this series of columns is a wider column c for initials, Christian names, titles, &c. At the right of this one or more columns l serve for page-numbers to correspond with the pages of accounts answering to the adjacent names. Two or more columns are reserved for this purpose, so that the pages of transferred accounts may be conveniently noted. l

- In indexing, the writer takes some regular letter of the surname, preferably the second, and arranges his names in the index with reference to the second letter as well as the initial. Thus, as illustrated, the indexer begins the name Adamsin the D column, Allison in the L column,and so on. The names being'thus set down consecutively on the page are necessarily thrown into the staggered position indicated, owing to variation in the second letters of succeeding names. This of course leaves the initials of the names in any column considerably scattered and the names themselves thereby set out apart from all the other names on the page. To iind any particular names is consequently the work ofbut a moment.

The account to which' any name relates may be on any page of the group, and in indexing the number of such page is noted in one of the columns at the right of the name. If by the filling of the original pages of account a transfer becomes necessary, it may be carried to some other page, forward or backward, and even into some other group, the place being noted in another column at the right. This of course makes it vpossible to fill the ledger completely, notwithstanding the original arbitrary division into groups.

To find an account is a very simple and natural operation. Running his eye down the appropriate index column, the accountant quickly finds the desired name, then the pagenumber adjacent, and then runninghis thumb down the stepped leaves stops it at the designated page and opens directly to the account.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

A ledger divided into alphabetical groups of stepped and numbered leaves, the numbers appearing in regular ord er on the leaf-steps, a projecting index-tab for each such group, and an index for each group comprisinga horizontally-ruled page, on which the names are to be written consecutively, a series of vertically-ruled lines at the left, the spaces be- IOO tween which are adapted to reeeive the initials of the names, each column being headed by two or more letters of the alphabet writtenin consecutive order, and columns at some distance tothe right thereof adapted to receive numbers corresponding with some page of the ledg'er group, whereby the names appear in the index in staggered order by placing the 1 initial of each name in a eohunn headed by its second letter.

In testimony whereof I alix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

' JUDSON A. KRAMER.

W tnesses:

J. M. Sir. JOHN, L. A. ST. JOHN. 

